Dustin's First Crush
by Rogue Ranger
Summary: The Ninja Storm rangers are in Middle School, where Shane likes girls, Tori tries to be more girly and Dustin has a crush on a boy. Can a crazy girl named Marah actually set things right?
1. Doomed!

_**Introduction: **The Ninja Storm rangers are in Middle School, where Shane likes girls, Tori tries to be more girly and **Dustin has a crush on a boy**. Can a crazy girl named Marah actually set things right? The story centers around twelve year old Dustin and I try to really get in his confused head and crazy life._

_**And I've created a poster to illustrate this story. To view it, click on Rogue Ranger to view my profile and you'll find the link to my DeviantART page near the top.**_

* * *

**~`- Dustin's First Crush –'~**

**Chapter 1: Doomed!**

* * *

"Aw, man, this sucks," Dustin said, pouting as he looked down at the big red "F" at the top of his spelling test. Once again, he felt like an idiot. "I'm gonna be grounded from riding for a week!"

He was sitting near the quad at the center of the Blue Bay Harbor Middle School with his two best friends, Shane and Tori. Dustin was always the goofball or odd one of the three, with Shane being the cool one and Tori the level headed one. That's really what he needed right now.

"With that history report you turned in where you said Pinky and the Brain helped build the pyramids in Egypt, you're so screwed," Shane agreed while riding his skateboard around in a little circle.

"Dude, don't remind me!" Dustin complained. "I'm gonna be held back for sure!" And his friends weren't helping one bit.

"Dustin, relax," Tori said in a reassuring tone as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's still the beginning of the school year and you've gotten a lot better in all your other subjects. Just keep practicing."

"I've been practicing!" Dustin insisted, waving his hands and flapping the paper around.

"Maybe you should get a tutor," Tori suggested.

"I thought you were his tutor," Shane commented while trying to flip his board off the edge of the cement.

"I have a life of my own," Tori told her friends. "You know, my sister's good at spelling."

"She's my sister's age," Dustin pointed out. "I don't wanna get showed up by some fifth grader. I'd feel like even a bigger idiot."

Shane just went, "um hum," as he skated around.

"Dude, you're not helping," Dustin told him.

Shane skidded to a stop and picked up his board. "Maybe Tor's right. You need to get help, man."

"I'll ask around," Tori told Dustin with a pat on his back, "but what if it's a girl?"

Dustin cringed.

"You do know I'm a girl, right?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he admitted, "but…"

"Girl's aren't so bad," Shane said, looking off into the distance.

Tori turned her head and followed his gaze. Across the quad were two girls walking while giggling and flipping their hair. She glared at them before turning back to her friends. "I guess it had to happen."

"What did?" Dustin asked.

"Puberty," she replied.

Dustin felt his upper lip. "Dude, do I have a mustache?"

Shane studied his face. "Nah, just dirt."

Dustin promptly went back to pouting. Yeah, his friends were being total buzz kills.

Tori hit her friends and rolled her eyes. "Girls get their period and boys get stupid, period."

"Haha," Shane said sarcastically. "So I don't think they have kooties."

"Wha! Since when?" Dustin demanded, his eyes wide.

"Don't worry," Tori asked him. "It'll happen to you soon enough. Then you'll be staring like a caveman."

"Hey, how come you started liking boys in like fourth grade?" Dustin asked her.

"Girls mature earlier than boys," she explained.

He gave her a skeptical look. "Since when?" he asked.

"Dustin's got a point," Shane agreed. "_You're _mature, but you're not like most girls."

She noticed that one of the two girls that were walking together had been too busy flipping her hair that she had walked into a poll and the other was giggling like crazy. "That's definitely true," she agreed, but then she noticed that a group of boys walking past the giggling girls were too busy staring at them that they tripped over each other and fell in a big pile on the ground. She looked from the girls' midriffs and short shorts down to her blue overalls.

"What's it like to like a girl in the like like kinda way?" Dustin asked Shane.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "They just look pretty instead of gross."

Dustin nodded, thinking. When he was in fourth grade, he had actually thought the sixth grader who got him into motocross was cute, but it was a one time thing and never happened again. And he was pretty sure it didn't mean anything since it wasn't a girl. To him, girls still were gross. Except for Tori, but she didn't count.

Meanwhile, Shane tried to do a trick for a passing girl, but she just looked from his skateboard up to his goofy face and walked away, making a little snort sound. A moment later, Shane fell off his board.

Suddenly a panicked look crossed Dustin's face. "Dudes, I've got to learn to spell right now before I get all distracted and crazy about girls and stuff!" He waved his hands to emphasize the seriousness of his point. After all, only serious things deserved the flailing limbs.

Tori looked from Dustin to Shane. "Your brother Porter's in English Honors, right?"

"Yeah," Shane agreed, dusting himself off and examining his board as if his fall had been its fault, "but he can't stand Dustin, remember?"

"I'm _doomed_!" Dustin declared, covering his face.

"No, you're not," Tori disagreed. "Look, I'll check with Mr. Handleman to see if there's any eighth graders who are willing to tutor a seventh grader in spelling."

"Thanks, Tor!" Dustin said, giving her a quick hug.

"When did Sally Marshall get boobs?" Shane asked, staring and… drooling?

Both Tori and Dustin cringed.

* * *

The next day, Dustin left his English class and immediately found his path blocked by a girl with brown hair, blue eyes and a cheesy grin. "Hi!" she chirped quickly. "I know you don't know me, but I was like, of course he doesn't know me because I haven't like introduced myself yet!"

Dustin just nodded. She had spoken too fast for him to follow everything and he was busy looking around for his friends. Then something occurred to him. "You're not my spelling tutor, are you?" he asked the hyper girl with a slightly panicked look in his eyes.

"Like I could be a tutor!" she replied, giggling like a… well, like a girl. "Not that I'm stupid. Well, okay, so I'm not smart, but… What was I talking about? Oh, yeah, I'm Marah!" She stuck out her hand.

He just mumbled, "uh huh," not really paying attention once he knew she was just an annoying girl and not someone he was going to have to actually spend time with. He kept looking around impatiently, trying to spot his friends.

"My big sister's the smart one," Marah continued. "Hey, maybe she can help you! That would be like _so_ cool and then you and me could spend some time getting to know each other." She reached up and ran a finger through his wavy brown hair. "So, what's your name?"

"Dude!" Dustin yelled, signaling Shane wildly the moment he spotted his friend.

"Well, that's a strange name," Marah commented, "but it's catchy. I love it!" She inched up her shirt, exposing more of her navel.

Dustin literally ran around Marah to get to Shane. "I thought Mrs. Bronston lets you guys out early for lunch," he told Shane.

"Yeah, I was busy," Shane replied with a dazed look. "There was this girl and she was…"

"Girls!" Dustin moaned, glancing from Shane's goofy grin back to the girl that had been pestering him. "Hey, where's Tori?"

"She's still trying to find you a spelling tutor, remember?" Shane told him before adding, "I wonder if she'll be cute."

"Tori?" Dustin asked, confused.

"No, your tutor!" Shane said, giving Dustin a light knock on his head.

Dustin frowned. "I hope not."

"Hey, dude, I'll meet you guys at our spot," Shane said before following a girl and saying, "Hey there," in a pathetic attempt to pick up on her.

* * *

About halfway through lunch, Tori approached her two friends with an older boy in tow.

"Woah, Tori's got a boyfriend," Shane whispered to Dustin, causing the wavy haired twelve year old to look up at the newcomer.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Jessie Sanders," Tori introduced. "He's agreed to help Dustin with his spelling."

Dustin started at the taller boy. His hair was blonde and stuck straight up in some amazing gravity defying spikes and his eyes were a deep blue green. He smiled at Dustin and his whole face seemed to glow. Dustin could feel his heart beating faster.

"So, which one's Dustin?" Jessie asked.

"Huh?" was all Dustin said, still staring like an idiot. He felt so nervous all of the sudden. It was weird, since he was never shy, especially around Tori's friends.

"Yeah, that would be Dustin," Tori told Jessie. "Good luck. You're gonna need it."

"How bad can you be?" Jessie asked Dustin.

"Bad?" Dustin repeated dumbly.

Jessie laughed and Dustin felt like his heart had grown wings and was now flying around inside him trying to get out. He promptly closed his mouth. The last thing he wanted was to have his heart fly out.

"At spelling?" Jessie clarified. "Guess maybe it will take some work."

"Definitely," Tori agreed. "Thanks again for agreeing."

"No problem," Jessie told her. "I get extra credit for it and plus I used to be really bad at math until someone helped me out." He put a hand on Dustin's shoulder. "Dude, I know what it's like to think you just can't get something no matter how hard you try."

Dustin nodded, blinking. This guy understood him. Somehow that made him feel both good and bad at the same time. He looked at Jessie's arm as he removed it and couldn't help but notice his bicept tense as he did so. He was strong and smart and tall.

"So, how 'bout we start today after school?" Jessie asked.

"Uh huh," Dustin agreed, nodding.

Tori leaned toward Jessie. "He's normally a lot more talkative than this."

"It's probably 'cause a _girl_ was talking to him," Shane said. "I saw her and she was kinda cute."

"Ah, so it's happened," Tori said, giving Dustin a wink.

Dustin blushed. He couldn't believe his friends were embarrassing him in front of this cute guy. Wait, had he actually thought that? His eyes filled with panic. He was noticing a guy in the like like kind of way. It could only mean... puberty messed up and made him gay!

* * *

After the arrangements were made for Jessie to tutor him after school, Dustin's eyes glazed over. The rest of the day, all he could think about was how he was going to be teased and picked on forever for being a queer. It'd be like the kindergarten "Where's Waldo?" jokes but forever and ever.

By the end of the day, he literally felt like crying. Of course, that would only prove he was a sissy. He really was _doomed_.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **If you like this story and want me to continue it, please review! Oh, and some of the random names thrown in here are from the movie **Sally Marshal Is Not An Alien** which Glenn McMillan (the actor who plays Dustin in PRNS) played the main character's best friend when he was middle school age._


	2. Study Date

**~`- Dustin's First Crush –'~**

**Chapter 2: Study Date**

* * *

After school, Dustin ran all the way home and into his room, where he closed the door and immediately began pacing. What to do? What to do? He could change his name. Nah, he'd done that already. He could run away. But that wouldn't change the fact that he liked a boy in the like like kinda way. When it came down to it, he couldn't escape himself.

Maybe he could change himself then. He ran to his desk and shoved aside all the useless junk like homework that was sitting on it until he found the latest issue of his motocross magazine. He flipped through the pages until he found a centerfold of a gorgeous model with smooth curves and a perfectly proportioned body. That model bike was _hot_! Unfortunately, there was this stupid big breated woman blocking his view of the shiny new bronze throttle.

Focus here, he reminded himself. He paused, leaning forward and studying the woman on the bike. She had her legs spread with her arm leaning carelessly on a knee while her hair was blowing. Her chest was sticking out, as if she was really proud of the fact that she could fit her breasts in that tight shirt. He squinted, studying the exposed cleavage. It kinda looked like a butt crack. He started to wonder if breasts were comfortable to lay on, kinda like how butts are made for sitting and all padded and stuff. Maybe she slept like a baby. Don't baby's suck on breasts?

No, no, no! Focus here! Dustin once again studied the woman, but it was just no use. She could have been any woman and it wouldn't have made a difference, even his mom. Uh, that was an unpleasant thought.

"Waldo!" his mom's voice shouted, startling him enough that he dropped the magazine. It remained open to the page he had been studying and he quickly closed it, feeling almost guilty about ogling… or _trying _to ogle the picture.

He opened the door to his room and followed the sound of his mom's voice to the front door. Great, maybe his friends were here and they could help him. But could he really tell either of them about his… feelings? He doubted it.

But, as his mom didn't let whoever it was at the door in, Dustin's mind started to race. And, as he walked around the open door, he froze.

There, smiling at him was Jessie Sangers. Dustin felt his cheeks flush as he blinked and stared. How had he forgotten about his tutoring? After all, he definitely hadn't forgotten his tutor.

The two continued to stare at each other until Jessie shifted uncomfortably, trying to gesture with his head toward the house.

Dustin just bobbed his head along with Jessie's movements as if that was the thing to do.

Jessie sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, dude, sorry," Dustin suddenly realize, stepping aside. "Come in!"

Jessie gratefully left the doorway and entered the house, looking around curiously.

"Waldo, who's your friend?" Dustin's mom asked nosily.

Fortunately, Jessie proceeded to introduce himself because Dustin seemed to forget who he was and why he was here. He even forgot his own name for a moment before remembering. "Mom!" he scolded. "_Dustin_, remember?"

"Yes, of course, honey," she said dismissively, studying the taller boy.

"Yeah, and so Tori gave me his address when he didn't show," Jessie continued to explain to Dustin's mom.

"Waldo, you didn't tell me you had a play date," his mom said in a cheerful voice.

Oh, god, he was going to die! He covered his face with his hands. Play dates were for five year olds. And the word _date_ made him picture the two of them sitting at a candle-lit table making kissy faces. He peaked between his fingers to give Jessie's lips a quick look. They looked soft and smooth and very kissable…

"And here's a picture of when he was six and was so dirty that it turned the bath water completely brown," his mom continued. "Look how adorable he was in his little naked mud bath."

His mom was showing Jessie pictures of him… and he was… _naked_? "Mom!" he screamed, louder than he had planned.

Both his mom and Jessie stared at him with surprised expressions.

"I, uh, just, like… think we should, like get to, uh, stuff and, uh yeah," he managed to say, adding a, "dude," for good measure.

"Honey, are you feeling alright?" his mom asked, concerned. "You look red. Let me see if you have a fever."

He shook off his mom's hand. "No, mom, I'm fine. Jessie's here to tutor me in spelling. I just wanna like… get started, you know?"

"Oh, a tutor!" she cooed happily. "How about I make you boys some cookies? But without milk because your sister's now decided she can't eat any dairy either and I want you to share." She started to reach for his face again. "Let me just check your temperature before I go."

"No, mom," he insisted, pleading. He glanced over at Jessie, who looked caught between discomfort and amusement. Motocross was nothing. His mom was going to be the death of him.

Reaching out, he grabbed Jessie by the hand, dragging him forcefully toward his room. Only once he was inside, with the door securely shut did he realize what he had done. He immediately released Jessie's hand, though the warmth of his skin lingered.

Fortunately, Jessie seemed to be too busy looking around his room. Suddenly Dustin felt self conscious. His room had never been a problem before, but suddenly he felt a need to impress the handsome eighth grader and the mess wasn't helping.

"Uh, cool room," Jessie offered, though it was obvious he was just being polite. "You don't clean much, do you?"

"Clean?" Dustin repeated, looking around. Okay, yes, his room looked like a garbage dump, but he knew where things were. Well, some things anyway. Okay, so it was a mess and he couldn't even find his alarm clock. He just knew that, if he threw something at a certain pile in the corner of his room, it stopped buzzing in the morning.

Jessie smiled, again revealing that amazing ability he had to turn Dustin's heart into an eager butterly. He reaching down, picking up a Happy Meal toy from the Lion King movie. "Looks like you never throw anything away," he commented. "You still have toys from like when you were a kid."

Dustin's cheeks flushed. He still liked his old toys. And… wasn't he still a kid?

"I'm thinking maybe we should forget the first lesson and I should help you clean your room," he offered.

Dustin stared at him for a moment, processing if he was serious or not. "Tori tried to help me clean it before, but she gave up," he admitted.

"Yeah, I can see why," Jessie agreed, setting down the toy and looking around… uncomfortably.

Ah, he's uncomfortable, Dustin realized, wanting to make his guest more comfortable. He looked around until he spotted the bed. Bending over, he brushed the crumbs of whatever he had been eating away along with stray clothes before finding a chunk of pizza crust. He picked it up, looking around for his trash can. Trash can, trash can, where can you be? Finally, he just gave up and tossed it onto his desk. He'd deal with it later. He then tossed his dirty socks and clothes on the floor and sat on the edge of his bed, patting a spot next to him.

Jessie looked between the crust that Dustin had just tossed to the empty spot on the bed next to Dustin and shrugged before sitting down. He reached for his backpack and pulled out a spelling workbook. "Okay, we'll start with the basics," he began, glancing over at Dustin. "I'll read you words and you spell them, okay?"

Dustin just nodded. He was sitting on his bed only inches from a hot guy. He could feel the warmth of Jessie's body and he'd never been so close. When Jessie would turn to look at him, his eyes were so big and so blue, it was awesome.

"Dude, breath," Dustin told himself.

"You want to pick the words instead?" Jessie asked.

"Huh?" Dustin replied, still having trouble with the whole breathing thing. Was it breathe in then out or just keep breathing in as quickly as possible? "Breath," he reminded himself again, as if saying it would help.

"Breathe's a tricky one, since it can sound like it's supposed to be spelled the same as breath," Jessie explained, his face dangerously close.

"Kiss," Dustin mumbled before realizing that Jessie hadn't gotten closer, but he had leaned toward Jessie.

"Just remember, two s's 'cause it takes two to kiss," Jessie replied seductively. Okay, so he didn't do it seductively at all, but it sure felt like it to Dustin. "So, you ready for some harder words?"

"Awesome," Dustin breathed.

"Well, sound it out," Jessie suggested.

Dustin's first thought was to spell Jessie's name, but that didn't seem quite right. He was really struggling here and it had nothing to do with spelling. So, he decided to stand up and walk over to his window. He opened it and stuck his head out. "Breathe," he reminded himself. "He's just a boy."

"You okay?" Jessie asked from behind him.

Dustin turned around. Hot. Why was his room so hot? Maybe it was just Jessie. After all, he was hot! Gah! He felt faint. "I'm fine," he lied.

Staring up at the older blonde, he felt something stir within him and he leaned forward, his mouth approaching Jessie's when suddenly Jessie stepped back and Dustin fell onto the floor.

"Dude, you okay?" Jessie asked, helping him up.

"Uh, yeah, just tripped," Dustin hastily explained as he dusted off all the dirt that ended up covering him. He really did need to clean his room.

"Yeah, I see that," Jessie said, chuckling softly. "I thought for a second there you were gonna kiss me." He laughed at how ridiculous that idea was and Dustin wanted to just run over to his bed and curl up under his covers. His bed was right there too, taunting him! He could practically hear his bed saying, "Come on, hide under my magic covers and Jessie will disappear!" If only!

Just then, a knock came from the bedroom door, promptly followed by the door opening. His mom peaked in, holding two packages of cookie mixes. "Jessie, do you prefer chocolate chip or oatmeal rasin?"

"I'll go with oatmeal raisin," Jessie said before turning to Dustin, "if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sounds great," Dustin replied, unable to keep from grinning stupidly at Jessie.

"But, Waldo, honey, you don't like oatmeal raisin," his mom insisted. "I was going to make two batches if both your sister and Jessie wanted oatmeal. Otherwise I would just make the chocolate chip because I know that's your favorite."

"Nah, I'm cool with oatmeal, mom," Dustin assured her.

"Are you sure you're okay, Waldo?" she asked.

"It's Dustin!" he yelled, closing the door on her and turning to face Jessie with an extremely embarrassed grin plastered to his face. He was sure he looked like a total idiot.

"Your mom seems nice," Jessie offered. Clearly he didn't have to live with her. "But, why does she call you Waldo?"

Dustin decided the best approaching was to shrug. "Uh, she gets confused something," he suggested. "You know, 'cause she's old."

Jessie nodded, accepting this answer. "Oh, hey, you're into motocross?" he suddenly asked, approaching Dustin's desk.

"Yeah," Dustin admitted happily. Motocross was something he wasn't very good at yet, but it was still cool and something to be proud of. "My gear's right over…" He looked around. "Well, it's somewhere around here." He snapped his fingers. "Nah, I think it's in the garage. You ride?"

"No," Jessie replied, "but it's cool that you're into that."

"You wanna see my bike?" Dustin offered, grinning.

"Yeah, cool," Jessie replied dreamily.

Dustin immediately led him to the garage where there was a blue and yellow motocross bike.

"Oh, it's… smaller than I thought," Jessie commented, studying the bike. He glanced over at Dustin, who was pouting. "But you're kinda short, so it makes sense."

Short? He just hadn't hit his growth spurt yet, unlike Mr. Tall Blonde and Devilishly Handsome here.

"Hey, can I sit on it?" Jessie asked excitedly.

"Sure," Dustin offered with a wave of his hand.

Jessie climbed up onto the bike and immediately pretended to ride. "Hey, you should get some motocross posters for your room," he suddenly suggested, turning back to Dustin. Then it'd look less like a messy five year old lives in there."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. That felt like an insult, but Jessie was still smiling, so he simply said, "Moto posters would be pretty awesome."

"You could get ones with hot babes on them," Jessie suggested, throwing a playful punch at Dustin's arm.

Dustin just blinked at him. Babes? "Uh, yeah, totally," he lied.

"I'm just joking," Jessie assured Dustin while hopping off the bike. "Your mom would probably freak anyway." He gave the bike one last glance before saying, "I guess we should get back to studying."

Dustin just nodded in reply. Where did this guy get his magical hypnotic eye power? He was like a super hero!

* * *

Their tutoring session progressed about how Dustin had expected. In other words, he wasn't any better at spelling then when they started. In fact, if anything, he'd actually forgotten how to spell words! Jessie was not helping him and he knew it was only a matter of time before the older boy gave up on him. That thought should have made him feel relieved because, after all, he wouldn't be all stressed out about this cute guy, but instead the idea made him incredibly sad. He knew he'd miss Jessie.

That thought solidified itself in Dustin when it came time for Jessie to leave and Dustin found it hard to let him go.

"Thanks for like trying to help me out," Dustin said, giving Jessie a quick hug.

"No problem," Jessie assured him.

"I bet you don't wanna ever come back," Dustin commented, pouting. "I'm hopeless at spelling."

"Nah, I'm not giving up yet," Jessie said with a grin. He then patted Dustin on the shoulder and turned to leave. "See you at school tomorrow," he called over his shoulder.

"Bye!" Dustin yelled, running to the door. He watched Jessie go and, even after he was gone, Dustin keep watching.

Later, in his room, Dustin lied down on his bed and thought about Jessie Sander. And, for the first time since he realized he like a boy, he felt happy.

**_

* * *

To be continued…_**

_**

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Author's Note:**__ Please review this story if you like it and want to see it continue. What do you think of my portrayal of Dustin?  
_


	3. Being Normal

**~`- Dustin's First Crush –'~**

**Chapter 3: Being Normal**

* * *

"A-N-A-L-I-Z-E?" Dustin asked, a hopeful look in his eyes as he stared at the blonde sitting next to him on his bed. Jessie was once again trying to teach him how to spell, but this time he actually seemed to be getting somewhere.

"You remembered the Z but you forgot the Y," Jessie said with a hypnotic grin.

"A-N-Y—" Dustin began.

"Sound it out," Jessie interrupted. "An_a_l_y_ze," he said slowly.

Dustin took a breath, letting his mind clear of all but the word and Jessie's eyes. "A-N-A-L-Y-Z-E?"

"You got it," Jessie told him. "Just remember, analysis has two Ss and analyze has a Z."

"I got it?" Dustin shouted in disbelief. "Awesome!" He promptly hugged Jessie tightly. "Thank you so much! You're so awesome!"

When he released Jessie, the blonde was laughing and shaking his head and Dustin knew his cheeks were probably bright red.

"Okay, now the next word is animated," Jessie said.

"Use it in a sentence," Dustin suggested, sitting back down and composing himself.

"Dustin likes to move his arms in a very _animated_ way," Jessie replied.

"I'm like a cartoon character?" Dustin asked.

"Animate, animation, animating and animated just mean the movement," Jessie explained. "It doesn't have to be in a cartoon."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. And he had so wanted to be on Pinky and the Brain. He could finally help Brain take over the world!

Jessie just stared at him patiently.

"They're dinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain…" Dustin sang quietly to himself.

Jessie rolled his eyes. "Maybe it's time for a break," he suggested.

"Yeah, totally!" Dustin agreed, waving his arms to emphasize his agreement. After all, he didn't want to be misunderstood. "Break time!"

Jessie chuckled and Dustin felt his heart once again beating faster. The blonde had an amazing laugh. Or so Dustin thought. It always made him feel warm and fuzzy inside, like he'd turned into a big teddy bear and Jessie was squeezing him.

There was a knock at Dustin's bedroom door followed by it immediately opening. "Did I hear you boys say you were going to take a break?" his mother asked, peaking inside.

"Mom!" Dustin shouted. "Were you listening outside my door?"

"I was just checking on you, Waldo," she assured him, "but I didn't want to disturb your studying."

He glared at her, picturing her with her ear against the door "checking" on him.

"You still look a little pink," she continued, approaching him. "Your fever might be coming back."

"I don't have a fever!" Dustin shouted, forcing her out of the room and closing the door on her. He knew she was just standing outside, so he just grinned nervously at Jessie.

Jessie returned his nervous look and added some confusion for good measure. "Hey, I like the motocross poster," he suddenly said.

"Yeah, I got them from my dad," Dustin explained, finally calming down as he stepped away from the door.

"And, no babes," Jessie added with a smile.

"Uh, wouldn't want my mom to freak?" Dustin suggested.

"Yeah, and I doubt your mom would've liked your dad having them either," Jessie laughed.

Dustin nodded, his cheeks again flushing. "Good point." He found himself reaching up and touching the amazing blonde spike on the front of Jessie's hair. As his fingers met the hair, he noticed it felt hard, not like his hair at all. It was kind of awesome.

Jessie looked up at Dustin's hand, surprised.

"Oh, sorry," Dustin said, lowering his hand. "How do you do that to your hair?"

"Gel," Jessie responded.

"You think I could do it with my hair?" Dustin asked, running his hand through his wavy brown hair as if touching Jessie's hair had given his hand magic transformation powers.

"I only think it works on straight hair," Jessie explained and Dustin promptly began pouting. "But your hair's fine just the way it is. It kinda fits your personality."

"I'm… _fine_?" Dustin mumbled, a dreamy look in his eyes. "So are you."

"Maybe you could cut it though," Jessie suddenly suggested. He looked over Dustin's hair. "Yeah, I think that'd make you look a little older and less like a girl."

"Oh," Dustin mumbled. "Yeah… I'll do that." He continued to watch Jessie.

"So, you ready to get back to work?" Jessie asked, gesturing toward the bed. "I can't stay much longer."

"Oh," Dustin repeated, pouting. "Yeah, I guess so."

The two then continued their tutoring session and Dustin learned how to spell a few words, but mostly he learned that he had a ridiculously huge crush on the most awesome boy on the planet: Jessie Sanders.

* * *

The next day at school, Dustin felt like he was walking around in a dreamy haze. All he could think about was Jessie and how the blonde god was going to tutor him yet again today after school.

"Earth to Dustin," Tori said, waving a hand in front of his face.

Dustin blinked, looking around. "What?" he asked, noticing his friends staring at him. "Do I have something on my face?"

Shane just chuckled. "Someone got bit by the love bug."

"Wha? How did you find out?" Dustin yelled, grabbing his friend.

"Chill," Shane warned, pulling Dustin off him. "It's in your eyes."

Dustin reached up to see if he could feel whatever was in his eyes that was revealing he had a crush on a boy. "Ow!" he cried.

"Dustin, stop poking at your eyes," Tori told him. "I think it's cute that you can have a crush without drooling and gawking at every girl that passes by." She glanced at Shane to let him know she was referring to him specifically, but he was too busy drooling over yet another girl.

"So, you're like okay with me being a sissy?" Dustin asked hopefully.

"Having a crush doesn't make you a sissy," Tori disagreed. "Right, Shane?"

"Uh huh," Shane mumbled. "Dude, you think Sally would go out with me if I asked her?"

"I don't know," Dustin said with a shrug. "So, you guys are okay with me like having a crush on… Jessie?"

"I think you two would make a cute couple," Tori assured him.

Dustin's face immediately lit up. He waved his arms enthusiastically toward his friends. "Thanks, guys! You don't know how awesome that makes me feel!" It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Plus, he and Jessie were "cute" together! He could see it now: Sunlit walks on the beach, candlelit dinners by… Wait, that stuff was so boring! They could go riding together! That'd be sweet and then they could get ice cream afterwards and lick it off each other's faces! Aw, man, the awesomeness would never end. "I'll go right now!" he shouted, jumping up and running off, leaving two very confused friends behind.

* * *

Dustin looked all over the quad until he found Jessie across from the cafeteria. He was about to run up to him when he noticed him talking to a girl and he stopped. What was he doing? Just because his friends were okay with him liking a boy didn't mean the boy was okay with him liking him.

He watched as Jessie and the girl talked about something that seemed to interest them both and he wondered if he and Jessie could ever have that much to talk about. Maybe they were just too different. After all, Jessie was cool and he was… well, Dustin. Maybe if he did get that haircut…

As he turned away and walked back to his friends, he wondered why he felt something for someone who was really only doing charity work by helping him out.

"Dustin, are you okay?" Tori asked as he approached.

"Yeah, fine," he replied. "Jessie was… busy."

"Oh, with… someone else," she realized.

Dustin just nodded.

"Man, I was hoping Dustin and Jess would hook up, then I could get with her older sister," Shane commented.

"Jessie Meadows has a sister?" Tori asked.

"Yeah, the hot super model!" Shane explained. "Jessie's her just kinda cute little sister. No, offense, bro."

"Ah," Tori mumbled, looking off into the distance.

And, just like that, Dustin's world came crumbling down. All the hopes he'd built up about his friends understanding him were as gone as his hopes of ever having Jessie Sanders like him back.

"What a fag!" Shane announced with a laugh and Dustin's cheeks immediately flushed, but his friend was looking toward a boy wearing a really colorful outfit. He looked like a rainbow.

"Maybe he just has unusual tastes in clothes," Tori suggested, looking down at her own clothes.

"Nah, look at the way he moves his hands when he talks," Shane explained.

Dustin's eyes widened and he immediately lowered his hands, willing them to stay put at his side. As he did so, he noticed how colorful his clothes were. Yellow was a gay color, wasn't it?

"I wonder if the dude knows how gay he looks," Shane continued.

"Maybe he is gay," Tori suggested. "That doesn't mean anything. He can't help the fact that he's… different." She once again looked at her clothes. "You know, why don't we all hit the mall after school. I'm thinking about getting a new wardrobe.

"Uh, me too," Dustin quickly agreed, glancing at his hand as it tried to give Tori a friendly but probably totally gay gesture.

"Yeah, I guess I could scope out the girls at the mall," Shane agreed, grinning with a far away look.

"Sure," Tori said, shaking her head. "Then it's a date."

Date? The word echoed in Dustin's head and he remembered. "What about Jessie?"

"Maybe you'll see her at the mall," Tori said.

"No, Jessie Sanders, my spelling tutor," Dustin corrected. A part of him wanted to tell that that's the Jessie he'd always been talking about, but not now and definitely not after Shane joked about that boy being gay. Dustin glanced at the rainbow boy again, but… nothing. Maybe the brunette wasn't Dustin's type or maybe Jessie was special somehow.

"Just tell him you got plans," Shane suggested.

"Yeah, plans," Dustin mumbled. Jessie'd probably be fine with that and he wanted to spend time with his friends. So why did he feel so… guilty?

* * *

By the time Dustin found Jessie again, he was outside the gym and Dustin ran up to the now sweaty blonde. He looked around for the girl before stopping near Jessie. He couldn't help but notice that the sweat had caused Jessie's hair to form a sort of wave instead of spikes. His hand started to rise, his fingers wanting to ride the blonde wave, but he held his hand back. Bad hand! No cookie for you!

"Hey, dude," Jessie greeted him with a smile. Wow! He must use teeth whitener because Dustin felt like he needed sunglasses.

Dustin just stared back at him with a sappy grin. "You wanna go to the mall with me?" he asked before he knew what he was saying. That wasn't what he was there to say. "I mean, like with me and my friends? Not like just the two of us." He ran a hand through his hair before slapping it away like it was someone else's hand.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to pass," Jessie said with a sympathetic look. "And, hey, I can't come over and tutor you today either. I got soccer practice and tons of homework. Is this weekend cool?"

"Uh, yeah," Dustin mumbled, a feeling of disappointment sweeping over him. Of course he didn't want Dustin around, but then he realized, "Oh, this weekend? Yeah, that'll be awesome!"

"'Kay, cath you then," Jessie said with a nod.

"It's a date!" Dustin declared before covering his mouth with both hands. "I mean, I'm gonna be _late_," he lamely corrected, running off. The moment that he was on the other side of the gym, he caught his breath. Why did being around Jessie make him act so dumb? If this kept happening, people would start thinking he's an airhead or something. But would Jessie want to see him if he knew he liked him in the like like kinda way? And, what if he and the whole world found out that Dustin was… gay?

* * *

The whole time Dustin was at the mall with his friends, he kept thinking about every little thing he did and if it made him gay. Did he talk too much, move his hands too much, wear too bright of colors? What if his friends found out and never wanted to speak to him again and everyone thought he was a freak and he never had any friends ever again? He'd be alone for the rest of his life!

"So, what do you think?" Tori asked, spinning in front of the two boys.

"Huh?" Dustin replied, looking up. Tori wasn't wearing her usual overalls and oversized shirts. She was wearing skinny jeans and a tank top that revealed her naval.

"T-Tor?" Shane stuttered, staring. "You look…"

"Different," Dustin finished for his friend.

"Different, good?" Tori asked, clearly hopeful.

"You look like…" Shane began, still staring.

"Like a girl," Dustin finished. "What's up with that? I thought the way you used to dress was fine."

She sighed, looking over her outfit. "In case you two haven't noticed, all the other girls—including the ones you two like—dress like this now that we're in Middle School."

"You're trying to look… hot?" Shane said, his mouth hanging open.

Dustin just laughed. "Like Tori could be hot."

Tori hit Dustin.

"Ow! Hey, that actually hurt!" he protested.

"I'm just trying to…" she began before huffing. "Just forget it."

"No, Tor, we're listening," Shane assured her, positioning himself so it was clear he was giving her his full attention.

"Yeah," Dustin nodded along.

She sighed, studying the price tag on her clothes. "All the guys stare at the girls who dress… girly. None of them even notice me. I thought I was okay with that, but… I want to be looked at the way you look at girls."

"I thought you didn't like the way I look at girls," Shane pointed out. "So, you're doing it for boys to like you?"

"I'm doing it for… myself," she replied. "I want to be a normal girl."

Dustin thought about that and wondered if he wanted to be a normal boy. Given the alternative was being made fun of, he chose normal. But how to be normal?

* * *

On their way to the food court, Dustin heard someone shouting "Dude" really loudly and repeatedly. At least he wasn't the only one who used the word. It was California, after all.

Suddenly he was attacked by a wild animal!

Looking around, he realized that, no, it was just that weird hyper girl from school. "Didn't you hear me calling your name?" she asked quickly. "Nevermind. So, what are you doing at the mall? Oh, I know! Shopping! Well, like, of course 'cause it's a mall and that's like what you do here, right?"

Dustin just nodded. He completely missed the grins from his two friends.

"So, Dude, you wanna get some ice cream?" she suggested, running a finger along his shirt. "We could even lick it off each other's faces." She then promptly began having a giggle fit.

She had stolen his ice cream licking idea! That was so unfair, especially since she was a girl. There should be some law against girls reading boys' minds.

"We'll leave you two… alone," Tori said, smiling to herself as she shared a knowing look with Shane.

"Huh?" Dustin asked. Why were his friends abandoning him, especially in his hour of need?

"I just got my allowance, so I'll pay," the girl offered. "What flavors do you want? Oh, I know, we can try them all!"

The panic momentarily left Dustin's eyes as he imagined having every flavor of ice cream. And it was free ice cream! "Awesome," he replied. Maybe he'd put up with the annoying girl for a little while. At least until the ice cream was gone.

The girl then dragged him over to Baskin Robins and announced, "We want to have one scoop of every flavor!"

"Uh, alright," the person behind the counter replied with raised eyebrows. "How would you like that? In cups or cones?"

"All in one big bowl!" she said quickly. "And, like, go crazy on the toppings too! I'm loaded." She pulled out some money and waved it around like a victory flag.

"Alright," the person behind the counter said slowly, turning to prepare their order.

After paying, the girl was handed a tray with a tub full of ice cream scoops on it. "Ugh," the girl grunted as she tried to lift the tray. Dustin immediately helped her with the tray, not wanting any of the precious ice cream to be wasted.

Once they got to a table, the two immediately began digging through the flavors with their spoons. "Mmm, pecan," Dustin said before trying another. "Bannana!"

"Cherry," the girl replied, before going after the same scoop as Dustin, who promptly used his spoon to knock hers away. She wasn't having any of that and immediately started attacking his spoon with her own.

The two then started dueling with their spoons, ice cream flying everywhere. When they were both out of breath, the girl set down her spoon. "Here, you got some right…" she said, leaning toward Dustin's face with her own and he pulled back, but the sudden motion caused him to lose his balance. He reached for something to stop his fall, but only ended up grabbing the tray, which of course wasn't attached to the table.

So, as Dustin's chair toppled over and he fell to the ground, he saw the tray tilt, sending the ice cream carton flying high into the air. It was like it was all happening in slow motion and yet he was helpless to stop the inevitable. Before the carton even hit the ground, it had dumped its contents all over his shirt and face. He was literally covered in a rainbow of ice cream flavors. Now _he_ looked like a rainbow. And, of all the things to think, he wondered if it made him look gay.

"Oh! I'm like _so_ sorry!" the girl immediately apologized, crawling over him and trying to clean the ice cream off with her hands, which only rubbed the cold liquid further into his skin.

"Ah!" he screamed, shoving her off and trying to stand up. Unfortunately, because of the mess on the floor around him, he just slipped back down the ground, this time his rear landing in freezing cold melting ice cream.

And it just had to happen. All around him, he could hear laughter. They were laughing at him and he was helpless to escape.

He crawled on his hands and knees across the floor until he felt it was safe to stand. Then, glancing around just long enough to confirm that he was indeed the center of attention, he ran as fast as he could toward the restrooms.

On his way, though, he ran into a familiar face: Jessie Sanders.

Dustin skidded to a stop. Jessie was there with a couple other guys his age and Dustin found himself saying, "Hey."

Jessie didn't reply. Instead, he looked Dustin up and down while his two friends snickered.

Oh, yeah, ice cream emergency, he reminded himself. But, instead, he ended up asking, "I thought you had tons of homework."

"Oh, yeah, well, practice was canceled and I got done earlier than I thought," Jessie said quickly, a nervous look in his eyes.

"Oh," Dustin mumbled, looking down.

"Who's the clown?" one of Jessie's friends asked, still laughing.

"Oh, he's just some kid I tutor in spelling," Jessie explained dismissively.

Dustin's heart fell into his stomach. He was "just some kid" to Jessie? He ran around the three and straight into the bathroom. His life was over.

* * *

Dustin was trying to wash off the multicolored mess on his once yellow shirt but was only succeeding in soaking himself when Shane entered the restroom. Dustin looked up from washing his hair to see his friend approach. "Tori's out there," Shane said. "She's really worried. So am I," he added, concern in his voice. "You okay?"

Dustin looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were red from crying and his drenched hair fell limply over his face, the water running down his back making him shiver. "Dude, do I look okay?" he asked, turning from his reflection.

Shane shrugged. "You've looked worse," he offered. "Like that time you spun out while riding and you ended up totally eating dirt."

"Yeah, but at least you guys didn't laugh at me," he replied, pouting.

"We didn't laugh at you this time either," Shane argued.

"But everyone else did," Dustin continued. "And I made like a total fool of myself in front of… It doesn't matter," he interrupted himself. "It's over anyway."

"Dude, it's not the end of the world," Shane said, patting his damp shoulder. "Look, I know what you're going through."

"Trust me, dude, you don't," Dustin promised his friend. Shane liked girls and that was totally different.

"I've made a fool out of myself too," Shane continued. "All of us get a little clumsy sometimes."

"I need ninja training," Dustin added. "I'm a total klutz."

"Nah, just sometimes," Shane disagreed. "Besides, like you could be a ninja." He laughed at the idea.

Dustin went back to ringing out the bottom of his shirt over the sink.

"Here," Shane said, removing his red shirt.

Dustin found himself staring as Shane's abs were briefly revealed before his white tank top undershirt fell back into place. Had he just been checking out his best friend? Yep, his life was officially over.

"Just wear this," Shane suggested, offering Dustin his red top.

"Uh, thanks," Dustin mumbled.

"You might wanna take that off first," Shane told him, gesturing toward the wet and stained shirt he was wearing.

"Oh, yeah," Dustin realized, starting to remove his shirt. He'd never felt self conscious around his best friend before, but suddenly things were different. No, it was just him. He was different.

He quickly removed his shirt, reaching for the one in Shane's hands.

"Here, use the paper towels to dry yourself first," Shane said, handing him a wad of paper towels.

"Oh, good idea," Dustin agreed, drying himself quickly. He felt so… naked.

"Don't forget the hair," Shane reminded him.

After Dustin was dry enough, he grabbed the red shirt and quickly slid it on.

"Feel better now?" Shane asked him.

"Uh, less cold I guess," Dustin replied, staring at the yellow shirt in his hands.

"Well, let's go," Shane said. "Tori's probably worried sick. You know how she gets."

"Yeah," Dustin mumbled, staring at his shirt one last time before crumpling it into a yellow wad and tossing it in the trash.

"Why'd you throw away your shirt?" Shane asked. "I thought that was one of your favorites."

"I'm gonna get new clothes," he told him, running a hand through his hair. "And, I need a haircut."

Shane gave him a confused look, but just shrugged and led him out of the bathroom.

"N-O-R-M-A-L," Dustin mumbled to himself as he followed his friend. More than only one other thing, Dustin wanted to be normal, but he wasn't normally normal, so being normal didn't feel very normal. And, the one other thing he wanted more than that was to stop thinking about Jessie.

* * *

**_To be continued…_**

_**

* * *

Author's Note:** What will happen to Dustin? What about Jessie and what about Tori and Shane? And, most of all, does anyone care about this story besides griffin blackwood? Review to show your support!  
_


	4. Changes

_**Author's Note: **Thank you, thank you, thank you to my reviewers! Seriously, I thought no one cared about this story but me. I think **griffin blackwood** was just reading in between updates that he really wanted (like Dustin in Heat). I could be wrong, but I'm probably not. So, thank you all! First off, **Marcus 1233**, Dustin's mom may or may not know, but we'll probably find out soon enough. And, **kira lovegood**, Marah's role will get bigger as things go on. And **Tarice the Styraurus**, I'm finally updating, so at least you know a little more of what happens. **Sethp**, thank you so much for the high praise! **Sarah P**, yes I like Dustin, but just because Dustin likes a boy and thinks he's gay doesn't mean he is gay. Ah, **Lamoya smith**, I think you've just summarized the mood of the whole story! And, finally, **Bubblebrooks**, I'm sorry for the wait, but at least I'm finally updating._

* * *

**~`- Dustin's First Crush –'~**

**Chapter 4: Changes**

* * *

Dustin walked down the crowded middle school halls, his eyes darting around. So far no one had noticed the haircut or new clothes. But, then, he mostly hung out with Shane and Tori, so he didn't really know other people. But, there down the hall getting stuff out of his locker, was Jessie Sanders.

Dustin figured now was the time to complete his look. Pulling out his new sunglasses, he slid them over his eyes. Now he looked cool!

Of course, he couldn't see anything at all. "Hey, watch where you're going!" someone snapped.

"Uh, sorry, dude," he mumbled, feeling his way forward. He just had to look cool long enough to reach the blond god.

"Ow!" he heard a girl scream. There were a few scattered grunts and crashes until a familiar voice made him pause.

"Dustin?" the voice asked in a seductive tone. Well, maybe it just sounded confused or surprised, but Jessie's voice was always seductive as far as Dustin was concerned.

Sliding his sunglasses up onto his head, Dustin tried to look casual. Sadly, the sunglasses just fell back onto his nose. Not accepting defeat, he forced them up higher and this time they actually stayed instead of falling off. All that practice last night had totally paid off!

"Yeah?" he asked, his voice cracking and almost ruining his whole cool act. He looked the blond over, realizing just how close he was standing to the older boy.

"Wow," Jessie said, stepping back to look him up and down. "You look totally different."

"Do you like it?" Dustin asked, doing a little spin like Tori had at the mall.

"Yeah, it's cool," Jessie nodded.

"I did it for you," Dustin said before his mouth let him know what it was going to say. "I mean, because of like your suggestions and stuff. Not because I'm trying to impress you or anything." He laughed nervously.

Jessie chuckled softly. "You really think I'm cool, don't you?"

Dustin stared at the blond dreamily. "Yeah, you're awesome."

Jessie cocked his head to the side. "Look, I'm sorry about the mall," he offered. "Tori told me what happened and I'm sure thinking I just blew you off didn't make you feel any better."

"Uh, yeah," Dustin mumbled. The truth was, he couldn't stop seeing that look on Jessie's face when he called him _"some kid."_

"So, we still on for this weekend?" Jessie asked.

"Oh, yeah, totally," Dustin agreed way more enthusiastically than he wanted to. "I'm still really bad at spelling."

"You'll get there," Jessie assured him before stepping aside. "See you later." He then walked off and Dustin watched him go. But, as he did so, he noticed that Jessie was walking up to the same girl yesterday. And, to his shock and horror, Jessie gave her a quick kiss and she blushed, laughing playfully.

The world stopped spinning for a moment and Dustin wondered why he wasn't flying off into space, where he'd drift forever in the abyss and blackness.

Jessie Sanders liked girls.

Of course he did. He was normal. But Dustin was trying so hard to be normal and cool and all that awesome stuff. He was trying so hard _for _Jessie, but why? Had he thought the blond would date him or something? Did he think they'd share a tub of every flavor of ice cream like he had with that crazy girl? Maybe he had...

He looked down at his new clothes and reminded himself that this was for himself, not for some boy. He just needed to make himself like girls. Maybe then he wouldn't feel like running over to Jessie and shoving the girl off of him. Yeah, that's exactly what he needed.

"Stupid girl," he grumbled, reaching up to remove his sunglasses from his head. Unfortunately, he discovered they were stuck. Apparently even his shorter curled took sunglasses hostage. Well, this look could work too, he figured. And he turned around, once against trying to forget Jessie Sanders and once again failing miserably. "Stupid brain."

* * *

"And she laughed at me," Shane complained as he, Dustin and Tori sat at their normal spot on the quad for lunch.

"Maybe trying to impress girls with moves you know you can't land isn't the best approach," Tori suggested as a guy walked by, staring and smiling at her.

Shane noticed this and glared menacingly at the guy. "Keep walking," he growled as the guy quickened his pace and left. "Looks like you aren't having any trouble not getting laughed at," he then told her.

"Oh, that?" she replied, trying to sound casual. "I have been getting a few looks, haven't I?" She gave her clothes a satisfied grin.

Shane groaned. "I hate the way guys look at you now," he commented.

"Jealous?" she accused.

"No," he quickly defended. "I just don't like guys checking out one of my best friends. I'd feel the same way if that gay guy was checking out Dustin."

Dustin had been staring at his sandwich, lost in thought, when he looked up suddenly. "What? What gay guy? I'm not gay! I mean, like, look at my clothes! No colors!" He let out a little shriek when he noticed his arms were flailing wildly. He quickly brought his limbs under control. In class, he had to sit on his hands to stop them from tapping on his desk. He wasn't sure, but he figured it was some sort of a gay tune they liked to tap. Either way, he had put a stop to it! And here he was being accused of exactly what he didn't want to be. He promptly pouted.

"Duh," Shane replied dismissively. "You like girls. I'm saying if some _other_ guy was checking you out."

Dustin's eyebrows raised. He'd never been checked out by a guy. It didn't sound so bad. After all, he checked out Jessie all the time. _Jessie_... There he was again! No matter how hard he tried, Dustin couldn't seem to keep the blond out of his head.

"But you've got my back if some guy goes after Tor, right dude?" Shane asked, throwing up a fist.

Without thinking, Dustin started to raise his own fist to meet Shane's, but he stopped himself. Two guys bumping fists seemed kinda gay, so he lowered his hand and just nodded, deciding it was time to sit on his hands again.

Shane waited for a moment, blinking at him, before shrugging and lowering his arm.

Dustin couldn't help but notice Shane's bicep as he lowered his arm and he remembered staring at his tanned friend's abs yesterday at the mall. Not thinking about Jessie wasn't going to be enough. He was turning gay for everyone, even his best friend! What he needed was to do something totally not gay. What was the most not-gay thing he could do?

He needed to kiss a girl. Maybe that would make him straight.

"Dustin, are you okay?" Tori asked, patting his back. "Are you choking?"

He looked at her, realizing that he had been making gagging faces to himself at the thought of kissing a girl. _Gross!_ "Uh, I'm fine, why?" he asked quickly.

"You've been acting so different lately," she said, watching him suspiciously. "And the haircut and clothes. It just... doesn't feel like the Dustin I know."

Dustin frowned. He didn't want to be the old Dustin. Unless that meant he'd stop noticing he was gay and his biggest worry would go back to being that he couldn't spell. Ah, those were the days! Wait, wasn't that a week ago? "Well, you're different too," he defended.

Tori shrugged. "I guess you're right. I just kinda miss our old Dustin."

"Well he's not coming back," Dustin replied with a frown. "This is the new Dustin." He tried to sound more confident than he felt.

"I support this new Dustin," Shane offered, placing a hand on Dustin shoulder as a sign of support.

Dustin stared at Shane's hand, following it to his friend's muscular arm and... Ah! He immediately shook Shane off him. "Uh, thanks, dude," he mumbled.

"Uh, no problem," Shane said, watching him curiously.

"So, um, you want my sandwich?" Dustin offered. "I'm not hungry."

"You're not hungry?" Shane repeated in disbelief.

"I think I know why," Tori whispered just as that crazy girl who bought them ice cream pranced up to the three.

"Hi, Dude!" she chirped gleefully.

Dustin groaned. Why was she invading their reserved space? It practically had "Power Colors" written on it!

"I wanted to like see if you were okay and stuff," the girl explained. "I mean, after the mall..."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled.

"Oh, hey, you got a haircut and are all... gray," she noticed.

Dustin just nodded. What was he supposed to say?

"No more yellow, huh?" she mumbled, looking down.

For the first time, he noticed that she was dressed all in yellow. She sort of looked like a banana. Had she dressed that way for him?

"So, um," she began, glancing around, "are you like gonna introduce me to your friends?"

"No, why?" he replied, confused. "Ow!"

Tori elbowed him before introducing herself. "I'm Tori and this is Shane," she greeted pleasantly. "You'll have to forgive Dustin. He forgets things sometimes, like _manners_."

"Forgive who?" the girl asked, confused. "Oh, I forget manners too! Like, _all the time_! Oh, I'm—"

"Dude" Dustin suddenly shouted. He had just come to a totally awesome realization. This annoying crazy banana girl could make him straight. It would be just like the frog prince, but instead of him turning from a frog into a prince, her kiss would turn him from gay to straight and totally normal! He couldn't help but dance around in celebration of his brilliant plan.

"No, Dude's your name," the girl began before shrugging, "but I like it! We'll both be Dudes, like total twins!"

"Yeah, whatever," Dustin said quickly, grabbing her by the arms. "Kiss me."

Her eyes widened before a grin spread over her face.

But, as her lips puckered, that was when Dustin began to lose his motivation bigtime. In fact, he almost lost his breakfast all over the quad.

"Dustin, that's not how you ask a girl—" Tori began before gasping as the girl jumped Dustin, knocking them both to the ground.

"Ah! No! I changed my mind!" he cried, trying to get away before being dragged back by the seat of his pants. "Shane, dude, save me!"

To his utter horror, his best friend was standing there laughing at him. He thought this was funny?

The girl launched herself off Dustin's legs, landing upside down in front of his face and making pucker noises.

That was it. He finally lost it and threw up in her face.

There was a moment when everything was absolutely silent, when no one said a word or made a sound. But, once the shock wore off, the girl began screaming. And not like his little sister's scream. This was like Siren from X-Men and he could feel his ears want to blow up and explode his head, which suddenly didn't seem so bad.

But Tori was already doing damage control, trying to calm the crazy vomit covered girl, while Shane dragged him off to the nurse's office.

"Dude," Shane whispered, "that's seriously not gonna win you any points. I think you can scratch kissing her in this lifetime off your list."

Dustin just nodded, feeling defeated as the two trudged to the nurse's. And, as he looked over, he noticed that he was leaning on Shane for support, his head resting on his tanned friend's shoulder. He immediately straightened up and followed Shane at a distance. He hoped the nurse could cure gayness.

* * *

As it turned out, the nurse hadn't been able to cure his gayness. In fact, she couldn't even find anything wrong with him.

"I'm not saying there can't be a physical cause for your stomach ache," she told him. "It's just that I have a lot of experience with kids coming in here trying to get out of class. I'm not saying that's you, but there are also a lot of boys who are so nervous about the idea of changing in front of others in gym." She shook her head. "As if there's anything wrong with the naked male body."

He glanced at Shane. Nope, she was not helping at all.

She stared at him from behind her huge glasses. "So, tell me, what's really bothering you?"

"Um..." he mumbled, not even sure where to begin.

"He just threw up in the face of a girl he was gonna kiss," Shane offered helpfully.

Dustin covered his face in embarrassment.

"Ah," she said, adopting a dreamy look. "I remember that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're about to kiss someone for the first time. I felt like my whole stomach was in knots the first time I kissed a boy."

Dustin's attention suddenly peaked. "What's it like to kiss a boy?" he heard himself ask.

"Ah, well his lips were so soft and warm," she explained, "but he was also firm and forceful, filled with masculine vigor."

"Oh..." he mumbled. He thought he could feel Shane's confused look out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored it. Why did the thought of kissing a girl gross him out but the thought of kissing a boy... of kissing Jessie...

Jessie, Jessie, _Jessie_! Maybe the nurse could give him a brain transplant.

"That was after our first date," the nurse was still rambling on. "I didn't even like him that much before we went out, but after that night..." She sighed dramatically, smiling.

"A date..." Dustin repeated quietly to himself. Maybe that's what he needed to do. If he dated a girl, maybe then he'd become straight. "Thanks a lot!" he shouted, jumping off the bed the nurse had him sit on and running out the door.

Now all he needed to do was find a girl willing to date him.

* * *

"Um, I'm flattered you want me to be the first girl you date," Tori said, apparently trying not to hurt his feelings, "but we're friends, Dustin. It just wouldn't work."

He promptly pouted. There went his brilliant plan.

"Why would you wanna date Tori?" Shane asked as the three walked to the one class they all shared together.

She hit him lightly. "Hey, I'm sure there are plenty of guys who would want to date me," she defended, straightening her midriff.

"I'm not saying there's not," he argued. "I'm just saying it'd be weird is all."

She shrugged, accepting this answer.

"Then who can I date?" Dustin whined.

"How about that girl you like?" Tori offered.

"The one he threw up on?" Shane asked.

"Yeah..." she replied, thinking. "Listen, Dustin, I know we're your friends, but we're not really that experienced with—"

"Hey, I'm experienced with girls," Shane quickly defended.

"Have you ever actually dated one?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No..." he admitted before adding, "but I've asked _tons_ of girls out."

She rolled her eyes. "Dustin, what about Jessie?"

"Jessie?" Dustin repeated. Maybe she was talking about that girl again. "Which Jessie?"

"Jessie Sanders, your tutor," she replied. "Remember?"

Dustin gulped. The thought of them sharing ice cream together floated around his head. Really, it wouldn't be that bad to go out on a date with the blond god, would it? And, wait, did his friends _want_ him to date Jessie? He started to smile as he imagined kissing the soft pink lips of Jessie Sanders... But then he remembered one important detail and his head immediately fell. "Jessie'd never date me. He's straight."

She blinked at him for a moment. "Um... I meant that you could ask him _about_ dating, like how to ask a girl out."

"Ooh!" He smacked his forehead, trying to hit the stupid away.

"He's dating that girl Kami or Karly or something like that," she continued.

"You mean the one with the pink hair?" Shane asked. "And those huge—"

"Yes, that's the one," Tori quickly interrupted.

"I guess I could try that," Dustin agreed.

"Great," Tori chirped. "He's tutoring you this weekend, right?"

"You think he could give me any pointers?" Shane began, before stopping himself. "Not that I need any. I'm just wondering if he's as awesome with the ladies as me." Just then a girl walked by and he smiled at her with a goofy grin. "I'm a skater," he said, still grinning.

"I can tell," she said flatly.

"You know what that means, don't you?" he asked, smirking.

"I don't care," she replied, beginning to walk away.

"It means I've got all the right moves," he finished, breaking into a full toothy smile.

Even Dustin knew that was lame.

"Yeah, ask Jessie," Tori confirmed, shaking her head as Shane stared after the girl.

* * *

That weekend, after Dustin had led Jessie to his room, he took a breath and decided just to come right out and ask. The blond seemed to sense that he had something on his mind, because he glanced at him quizzically after setting down his backpack. "Jessie, I..." he stammered.

"What's up?" the blond prompted.

"I wanted to like ask you something," he continued.

Jessie shrugged. "If it's about spelling, don't worry. You'll get better. It just takes some time."

"No," Dustin disagreed. "It's about... See..." Why was this so hard? Okay, so maybe he was just distracted by the older boy's hotness. He decided to turn and face his door. Yeah, that was much better. "I wanted to ask you—"

Suddenly the door to his room opened. "What did you want to ask me, honey?" his mother asked, peaking her head in.

He glared at her. "I'm not talking to you!" he yelled, shoving her out of his room.

"Then why were you talking to the door like—" she argued as he slammed the door in her face.

He frowned, still staring at the door. Then he decided to open it. As expected, his mom was still standing there.

"I was just going to ask if you two wanted some cookies," she said.

"That'd be great, Mrs. B.," Jessie replied for the two.

"Okay, I'll go make some now," she said, making no move to actually leave.

Dustin stared at her for a moment before she realized this and left.

Closing the door, he sighed, leaning his head against the wooden door frame.

"So, where were we?" Jessie asked.

Dustin decided he was just going to spit it out as fast as possible. "I want to ask you out on a date."

Okay... so that wasn't exactly what he had meant to say.

There was a long silence that followed and he began banging his head against the doorframe. How could he correct this?

"Dustin, are you...?" Jessie's voice asked slowly.

He could hear the unspoken word: Gay. Was he gay?

He hadn't even realized that he was crying until he felt a hand on his shoulder and the older boy turned him around and he realized that everything looked all fuzzy and blurry. It was because there were tears in his eyes. He couldn't even see the expression on Jessie's face. The blond probably thought he was a freak or something. "If you don't wanna tutor me anymore, I understand," he whispered, reaching up to wipe his eyes.

He heard a sigh. "That's why you always act the way you do around me," Jessie seemed to realize outloud.

Dustin just nodded.

"Look, Dustin," Jessie began, "it's okay. I won't stop tutoring you, but you have to know. I'm..."

"Straight, I know," Dustin replied, rubbing his eyes. Eww, was there snot coming out of his nose? He was a mess. Even if Jessie were gay, there was no way he'd like him back, especially not now.

"You...you have a crush on me, don't you?" Jessie asked and, now that Dustin's vision was clear, he could make out the blond smiling.

Dustin once again just nodded.

"I know it should be weird and all, but it's kinda cool in a way," he continued.

"Cool?" Dustin repeated, confused.

"Girls _and_ guys think I'm hot." He chuckled to himself.

"So you don't hate me?" Dustin asked tentatively.

"Of course not," Jessie replied dismissively.

Dustin let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't help but laugh despite having just been crying. "I was supposed to ask you if you could give me tips on how to ask a girl out on a date."

"A girl?" Jessie repeated. "I thought you were..."

"I don't wanna be made fun of again," Dustin explained. "I have to date a girl to change."

"You can't change who you are," Jessie began to argue.

"Please," Dustin begged.

The blond shrugged, reluctantly agreeing. "My girlfriend's always trying to get me to hook her younger sister up with someone. How would you feel about your first date being a blind date?"

"I guess that'd be okay," Dustin agreed. "Does she have a seeing eye dog? And one of those canes? Oh, and I always wondered, why do blind people need sunglasses if they can't see? Like, can they even tell it's sunny?"

Jessie stared at him for a moment. "A blind date is where you don't know who you're gonna date before you meet them."

"Like a surprise?" Dustin asked.

"Exactly," Jessie agreed.

"I love surprises!" he announced, fist pumping the air.

He lowered his arm. At least, he thought he loved surprises.

"We can make it a double date if you want," Jessie offered.

Dustin's eyes widened. "So, you're... bi?" Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...

"I meant you and my girlfriend's sister and me and my girlfriend," he clarified. "We can even make it a triple date if you'd feel more comfortable."

"Triple date?" Dustin asked.

"Tori and her boyfriend," Jessie explained.

"Tori has a boyfriend?" Dustin gasped. How had she managed to keep this a secret from her best friends?

"That Shane dude's her boyfriend, right?" Jessie explained.

Dustin furrowed his brow. Why would he think that Tori and Shane were dating? Sure they hung out all the time and Shane stuck up for her and acted jealous when other guys checked her out and... Maybe there was something going on after all. But, even if there wasn't, Dustin knew he'd feel a lot more comfortable dating some mystery girl if his friends were there by his side. He'd just tell them the details later. "Sure, let's do a threesome!" he agreed.

"Triple date," Jessie corrected.

Dustin nodded and, for the first time in what felt like forever, he had some sense of hope. Maybe this blind triple date idea would make him straight. If not, at least it couldn't hurt, right?

* * *

_**To Be Continued...**_

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Gee, I wonder who Dustin's mystery date will be... I'm sure you have an idea. And what will happen when Tori and Shane find out? Remember, please review and show your support for this story; it really encourages me to update!_


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